Sunday, May 19, 2013

Keynote Address at Alpha Troop Reunion

Alpha Troop Alumni Association is comprised of veterans of Troop A, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 101st Airborne Division. This unit was created in 1963 and has been active since that year. The troop has served in every war since Vietnam. The association was formed in the early 1990's and has a reunion every two years.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

First Bald Eagle

I sighted a bald eagle between Pfafftown and Tobaccoville this morning. This is a first for me in this area. At 10:30 AM on Tobaccoville Road in front of the Grange Hall. The rare bird was flying over the road about a hundred to a hundred-fifty feet high. He was very visible and recognizable.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Slide Show Of Norway

Open the link below to see a slide show of 70 pictures and 5, 30 second videos of our tour in Norway in July 2012. The videos will start automatically when their slides are arrived at in the show. Use your page-up or page-down keys to move from slide to slide. PowerPoint is needed on your system and the file will be downloaded to your computer for viewing.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

An Unbeknownst Photo Surfaces

Picture taken on March 12, 1966 of Mabe when he returned to his unit from the field hospital after being wounded. The unbeknownst photo came forth 45 years later. Mabe appears to be in shock from the combat of the day.

The photograph is a treasure. When family members gathered around to see, the mood was quiet amazement. When the image was projected onto a wide-screen in a high school classroom, the class became stone silent as each student’s eyes widened. It took several moments for the students to absorb the figure and realize the image in the picture and the teacher standing in front of them are the same person. They listened intently as I described how the photograph emerged.

I received this valuable while attending the Alpha Troop reunion in Nashville in May 2011. Dominick Bates from Albany, New York whom I hadn’t seen or corresponded with since we served together on the ground in first squad, first platoon of Troop A, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam during 1966.

Bates presented to me the photograph which was made on March 12 of that year. That day I was wounded while on foot-recon patrol in the countryside around Tuy Hoa. After the close-action small arms firefight and a Huey medevac flight to a Mash-like field hospital, I returned to my unit. The close-up photo of me lying on the ground shows a shocked nineteen-year-old paratrooper. The photo had been in Bates’ scrapbook for forty-five years. May 2011 was Bates’ first reunion, which he learned about from a telephone message on his answering machine. He and I along with our wives are new friends and stay in touch by email and telephone.

One never knows what treasure will come from a reunion of combat veterans. Expect the unexpected and look forward to pleasant interaction with past acquaintances when you attend a reunion. Expect to meet and enjoy the fellowship of other Alpha Troop veterans. You never know how your presence will benefit others or how someone you knew in war will uplift you with spoken words, expressed memories, or mementos like an old photo.

Contact your buddies or track down lost comrades. Urge them to meet you at the Alpha Troop reunion in San Diego in May 2013.

A New Quote

Monday, January 16, 2012

New Quote

“When the mountaintop is reached, the view will be a vast sea of distant faces of children and young people seeking teachers, mentors, and leaders to provide direction.”Mike Mabe (1947 - ____ ) soldier, corporate manager, substitute teacher

Commander of the Honor Guard, Gray Templeton, from Clemmons Post 9010 folds the US flag with the help of Adams and Athey during the flag-folding ceremony at the casket and in front of the family.

"On behalf of the President of the United States and the people of a grateful nation, may I present this flag as a token of appreciation for the honorable and faithful service your loved one rendered this nation." is an example of words softly spoken to the next of kin when the flag is presented.

This van helps car-pool the honor guard members to the sites in the north and west sections of Forsyth County.

Honor guard members represent VFW Post 9010 in Clemmons, VFW Post 8719 in Advance, VFW Post 8593 in Pfafftown, and Western Forsyth American Legion Post 522 in Lewisville. Men from these posts work together to provide military funerals for all families who request them. These funerals usually number over one-hundred per year with a record 170 in year 2010.

Not all honor guard members are pictured here. Regulars Ron Hash and Barry Luper had other commitments this day. Coordinator Carl Munson of Clemmons does what his title suggests, plan and dispatch the honor guard. I had the privilege to accompany my good neighbor Ross Adams on September 19 to photograph and record the honor guard and their performance at the burial of a WWII veteran at Forsyth Memorial Park. It was impressive to witness the cooperation and leadership among the different post members as these veterans planned their positioning and decided each other's roles to deliver their stellar performance.

I felt that all observers were pleased and honored by the honor guards' services. I hope you will notice these men as they travel throughout our area and in your own way let them know they are appreciated.

Thursday, August 04, 2011

Mostly People Pictures

Doreen and I would not have the courage to plan a trip to southwest France without the lead of our friends Don and Nancy. It was a great adventure on the River Lot and inside several villages. We saw castles and entered the prehistoric cave of Perle Meche.

Nancy, Don and Mike

Seated and getting ready for the most expensive lunch ever eaten. $258.00 for two.

the dessert

The Servers

Relaxing

Touring a village along the Lot River.

Nancy speaks English, Spanish, and some French. She did much of the communication.

We ate lots of French bread.

Outdoor dining in the shade

Negotiating locks

Tasting sweets

After taking a shower in a luxury hotel in Paris the night before our return flight to US.